Will convene meet to discuss fly ash transportation, says Khattar

Union Power Minister ML Khattar on Sunday assured stakeholders to convene a joint meeting with the Ministries of Coal, Environment and Railways to address concerns regarding the provision of adequate rail rakes for long-distance transportation of fly ash.

Fly ash is a fine, powdery by-product of coal combustion in power plants. It is composed of mineral matter and unburnt carbon. Although it can be used in concrete and brick manufacturing, the disposal of huge quantity of fly ash has remained a problem.

Khattar on Sunday visited Bhubaneswar and held a detailed review meeting with senior officials of the Government of Odisha on the state’s power sector development.

As per the Ministry of Power, the discussions covered key issues including fly ash utilisation, capacity addition, transmission infrastructure and power allocation. Highlighting the need to meet growing power demands, the state government told the Minister, “Odisha currently has 20GW of operational coal-based thermal power capacity, with an additional 10GW in the pipeline, expected to be commissioned over the next five to six years.”

The Union Minister encouraged the development of more pit-head thermal power plants in Odisha, including through joint ventures with GENCOs of other states. On the transmission front, Odisha shared its intra-state planning strategy and recent progress in strengthening supply.